Terrible Dream
by Luvinmypoppingcorn
Summary: 4 years ago, Kirby and Fumu defeated Nightmare and saved the universe from his terrifying wrath. The universe falls into a period of peace and prosperity, and all is well in Dreamland. Kirby, however, is not well at ease. Filled with paranoia that Nightmare might return, he meets a new friend and a whole new (and rather dark) history of the Great War is uncovered.
1. The Beginning

Yay! I'm so excited to FINALLY start this story! I've had the idea for a long time, but I've never really gotten into writing it until now. This story does contain fan characters, so those of you who are allergic to those intermingling with cannon characters should probably look away for your own health.

NOTE: The grammar and spelling errors in Kirby's dialogue are intentional! He didn't grow up with this language initially, so he obviously wouldn't be speaking in perfect sentences. Since he was a baby in the anime (possibly 3-4) he is now 8 in this fanfiction.

ANOTHER NOTE: This story also uses a headcanon plot designed by myself and my small group of roleplaying friends. Some things may not be "up-to-code" here, so please forgive me!

Hoshi no Kabi © Masahiro Sakurai

Autumn © KaatheBigSnake

The war had been over for 4 prosperous years. Peace had befallen the universe with the threat of Nightmare Enterprises being annihilated. With Nightmare gone, it was time for a new age of revolution, or rather, a time to rest.

Dreamland had never been more at ease. Without having to worry about a new demon beast every other day, the cappies only had King Dedede to put up with. Meta Knight had decided to retire from his work at guarding Castle Dedede and went off into the universe to test his strength on other worlds. Fumu and Bun were still out enjoying themselves in the peak of their childhood. Kirby seemed to be the only one who was not feeling jovial in this peak of freedom.

_"True to my name, I am but a dream that lives in your heart. Therefore, I am immortal: for as long as there is fear in your heart, I will someday return."_

Those words rang out through his head repeatedly. Nightmare couldn't come back. How could he come back?

"Kirby, relax, you know he's not coming back," Fumu reassured him. "We destroyed him, together! We both saw him die."

"I know-poy..." Kirby sighed, clearly not comforted by her words. After those 4 years, Kirby's communication skills had greatly developed, and he could easily speak with his friends. "But why he say those words-poy, to me? His dying words..."

"It's just his way of psyching you out... You shouldn't worry about it! He's gone for good," Fumu chirped, patting her friend's back before getting up off his bed. "Now come on, Bun and the rest are starting a game of kick-ball."

Kirby shook his head.

"No, I... think I should train-poy. Even if he isn't coming back, I still want be prepared," he explained, secluding himself to the far side of his bed.

"... Okay... Well, if you change your mind, we'll be out here playing!" she said with a smile before heading to the door. Just as she was about to close it, she paused and glanced back at him. "Um... Kirby... Today is also-"  
"I know," he interrupted with a sigh. "I only been reminded 20 other times-poy..."

Ah yes. Today. On this day about 30 or so years ago, his friend King Dedede had become ruler of Dreamland. Kirby knew he should be proud to celebrate such a milestone, but he just couldn't get into high spirits. Nothing could get him into high spirits these days.

After a moment of brief brooding, Kirby decided to head out. It was a relatively nice day, the sun shining brightly from above, warming the tropical environment.

"_At least it not attacking the moon again_," Kirby thought to himself. "_I wonder when Meta Knight will be back_..._ Maybe ask Sword and Blade_?"

Kirby grabbed his sword and placed it in its sheath. It was something that Meta Knight had given to him to keep Dreamland safe, in case trouble was to happen in his absence. He made his way to the castle, ignoring the cappies that said high to him or cheered for him and his glory.

As he reached the castle, he could see all the magnificent decorations complimenting it. It was obvious this was going to be a big event, something he wouldn't dare to miss. Not something that meant so much to him.

"Hey, pipsqueak, watch where you're going-gesu!" grumbled a voice in annoyance.

"Sorry, Escargon-poy," Kirby stammered. He hadn't been watching where he was going and had accidentally bumped into the large snail.

"... Just don't let it happen again. I'm very busy getting these lazy, good-for-nothing waddle-dees to finish the decorations for his royal highness-gesu. I don't need you messing up his special day!" Escargon huffed, turning away from the small puff.

Kirby nodded before continuing to search for Sword and Blade. The castle was definitely in mass chaos, trying to get everything prepared for the evening's events. He hoped everything would go well.

"Hey there, Kirby! What are you doing here? You know daddy doesn't like it when you're in the castle..." spoke a small child's voice.

"Autumn!" Kirby exclaimed, a smile sneaking its way onto his face.

"Isn't it pretty? They've been working all day and night... I have too! On this picture," she explained with a dreamy sigh. She showed Kirby a crayon drawing of herself with her father, King Dedede.

Nobody was quite sure where she came from, but once she showed up, it was guaranteed the king was going to have her. He had raised her all by himself, and so far, she was quite the decent princess. She was the oddest creature by far, however. With two long legs, arms, hands... Nobody knew what species she was, but they welcomed her to the kingdom anyways.

"It looking great, Autumn," Kirby replied happily. "You wouldn't have happened to see Sword or Blade-poy, have you?"

"No, I haven't seen them around for a while. Perhaps they're out on watch... They're usually always doing something boring," she huffed as she crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue. "Let's blow some bubbles later, okay?"

"Oh, uh... Okay," Kirby stammered. He waved his good-bye before carrying on again.

And that's when he heard it.


	2. The Meeting

Hoshi no Kabi © Masahiro Sakurai

Penelope, Cream Knight © Luvinmypoppingcorn

Autumn © KaatheBigSnake

The sound was alluring. It was more than a sound, it was music. Music; a somber song played on some kind of instrument that Kirby couldn't quite make a link to. It was nothing like he had ever heard before; high pitched and slightly squeaky. He felt pressured into following it to its source.

He raced up the stairs, dodging scuttling waddle-dees that were carrying several different objects. Many tried to question him, wondering why he was in the castle in the first place, but it was his main priority to find out where that whimsical music was coming from. He flashed from hall to hall, evading the questioning cappies and others, trying to find out whom, or what was making that noise.

"Kirby! Where are you going..?" squeaked out Lololo, wondering where his friend was off to in such a hurry.

"Yeah! If the king catches you up here, he'll do something awful! C'mon, we'll help you-" Lalala started, tugging him back lightly.

"No..! Don't you guys hear it-poy?" Kirby asked, pulling away from Lalala. "Music... Have to know where it's coming from!"

"Music?" Lololo questioned.

"Kirby, there is no music," Lalala explained, giving him an odd look. "Are you okay?"

Kirby huffed before continuing along, the duo trying to follow along but only succeeding in falling behind. He arrived at the top of the castle in an abandoned corridor, no waddle-dees to be seen. The music had stopped, and he was now at a fork in the hall.

"_A shower would do me some good_," spoke an unfamiliar voice in Kirby's mind.

Thinking he was just hearing things, Kirby decided to do some snooping around, hoping to find the room himself. He went from door to door, opening each one. They all seemed to be vacant, untouched for years. He stumbled upon one of interest, however.

He walked inside, noticing a book that was laid out upon a desk. Near one side of the wall was a cart holding some expired and used medical supplies. There was dust nearly everywhere, and on the bed were dark blood stains.

Kirby picked up the book, reading a page that had been properly marked with a piece of string.

**_Sent to Dreamland until new ambassador arrives. Still recovering. Hallucinations and nightmares are becoming more common since the procedure. Partner patched me up again today. Losing the war, too many men and women are dying. Should give up now. Rumors say the ambassador was an abandoned creation of Nightmare that turned on him. Said to contain unfathomable power. Hopefully it will help us in the end._**

"_Relic of the Great War_?" Kirby questioned, grabbing the book into his nubs. He turned the book around, looking for a name. Slightly faded on the top right of the cover was "Cream Knight".

Kirby lightly closed the door before continuing to scout around. After a few doors, he finally came to the one he was looking for. As he turned the nob, he immediately gave a look of awe.

The walls were filled with many different clocks: Cat clocks, analog clocks, digital clocks, cuckoo clocks, water clocks, grandfather clocks, a sun dial, and many others. In a corner sat a large television with a tiny screen filled with static, but there were some words that could be heard, just not understood. There was a table which housed a miniature version of Popstar and all its inhabitants. Well, most of its inhabitants.

Upon further examination, only 4 of the dolls placed seemed familiar to him: Kabu, Jecra Knight, Lady Garlude, and Meta Knight. The rest of them he didn't seem to recognize. He picked up the Meta Knight figurine and looked it over, noticing it had the letters "MK" etched into the bottom. He picked up each one and glanced at their undersides: "KU, JK, LG, and MK". He did the same for the rest, still not recognizing the names, that is, until he came upon the initials "CK".

"_Cream Knight_?" Kirby pondered, taking ahold of the small figurine. It looked serious. "_Maybe this the person who owned journal before_..." Standing beside that doll had been another, and it had the initials "HX". "_This one must have been her partner_..."

Another thing that stood out to him was a figurine of a creature that looked to be of the same species as Autumn. Its initials spelled out "PP".

A door squeaked open and a warm breeze was felt.

Kirby quickly turned in surprise, staring at the new figure.

It had dull, gray, lifeless eyes. Its light brown hair reached down to its waist, looking fluffy and straight. It was tall, nearly taller than the door frame. Its skin was as pale as paper. It was garbed in a long, flowing dress that seemed much too big for it, the top portion being a light baby blue and covering its hands, while the bottom section was a light yellow that dragged along the floor.

It looked exactly like the figure with the initials "PP".

The figure stared quietly in surprise.

"It was you, making that music-poy, right?" Kirby asked, taking a step closer to this new person.

The figure opened its mouth and screamed in terror, running back into the bathroom where it closed and locked the door.


End file.
